News

36.333 UG, Terrier-Black Brant sounding rocket was launched from Roi-Namur, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands on April 16, 2018. The purpose of this mission was to sudy the Local InterStellar Medium (LISM) by sampling sightlines in the lower edge of the translucent cloud regime between the diffuse and dense phases of the ISM targeting gamma Ara.

36.330 UH, Terrier-Black Brant sounding rocket was launched from Roi-Namur, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands on April 4, 2018. The purpose of this mission was to make observations of soft X-ray emissions from Vela Supernova Remnant with large field of view detector.

36.327 NR, Terrier-Black Brant sounding rocket was launched from Wallops Island, VA on March 31, 2018. The purpose of this mission is to research in the physics of supersonic Disk Gap Band (DGB) parachute inflation to enable the development of the parachute required for the Mars Sample Return Sample Retrieval Lander.

46.019 UO, Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket was launched from Wallops Island, VA on March 25, 2018. The purpose of the University Student Instrument Program (USIP) is to encourage participants to seek future involvement in space-based science missions by providing university undergraduate level students and faculty with a space flight opportunity that will allow their custom built experiments to be exposed to the space environment.

41.119, 41.120 & 41.122 CE, three Terrier-Improved Orion sounding rockets were launched from Poker Flat Research Range, AK on January 26, 2018. The purpose of the Super Soaker missions is to study the time dependent neutral chemistry and transport of water in the upper atmosphere and to determine the resultant impact on the local temperature and Polar Mesospheric Cloud (PMC) formation.

36.329 UH Terrier-Black Brant was launched from Poker Flat Research Range, AK on January 19, 2018. The purpose of the Diffuse X-Rays from the Local Galaxy (DXL-3) mission was to study the physics associated with the Solar Wind Charge Exchange (SWCX) and the Local Hot Bubble (LHB).

12.085 DR was launched from White Sands Missile Range, NM on November 16, 2017. The purpose of this mission was to demonstrate the Sabre Zombie hardware, software, support equipment and concept of operations.

36.311 UG Terrier-Black Brant was launched from White Sands Missile Range on October 30, 2017. The Dual-channel Extreme Ultraviolet Continuum Spectrograph (DEUCE) payload was designed to observe the only two non-white-dwarf stars in the Milky Way known to have a sufficiently low neutral hydrogen column density to measure their ionizing radiation directly: Beta Canis Major (βCMa) and Epsilon Canis Major (εCMa). The target for this mission was βCMa.

36.326 NR Terrier-Black Brant was launched from Wallops Island, VA on October 4, 2017. The main objective of the ASPIRE mission was to test parachute systems in a low-density, supersonic environment for future missions to Mars.

29.042 UE Terrier-Malemute and 36.321 UE Terrier-Black Brant were launched from the Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands on September 9, 2017. The Waves and Instabilities from a Neutral Dynamo (WINDY)
payloads were designed to investigate the post-sunset equatorila F-region ionosphere and the factors that predispose it to equatorial spread F (ESF).

46.017 UO Terrier-Improved Malemute was launched from Wallops Island, VA on August 13, 2017.The RockSat-X mission carried student developed experiments and is a follow on mission to RockOn and RockSat-C. RockSat-X experiments are more advanced than RockOn and RockSat-C and include full featured sounding rocket support systems, such as telemetry, attitude control and recovery. RockSat-X experiments are exposed to the space environment enabling measurement of variables outside the payload.

36.323 US Terrier-Black Brant was launched from White Sands Missile Range, NM on June 26, 2017.The Colorado High-resolution Echelle Stellar Spectrograph (CHESS) is designed to enable new scientific studies of the Local InterStellar Medium (LISM). The LISM provides an opportunity to study general ISM phenomena up close and in three dimensions, including interactions of different phases of the ISM, cloud collisions, cloud evolution, ionization structure, thermal balance, turbulent motions, etc. Understanding the structure of the LISM is important in evaluating the cosmic ray environment and the potential habitability of nearby exoplanets.

41.121 UO Terrier-Improved Orion was launched from Wallops Island, VA on June 22, 2017. The RockOn workshop is an introductory flight opportunity to provided exposure to, and spark interest in, space based science missions. This is accomplished by flying two classes of experiments. First time participants will generally fly the simpler kit built experiment. As educational institutions gain more experience, it is expected they will progress towards developing their own unique RockSat-C class experiments. This was the 10th flight of the RockOn! payload.

36.317 GP Terrier-Black Brant was launched from Wallops Island, VA on May 16, 2017.The primary purpose for this technology demonstration mission was to test the NSROC Forward OGIVE Recovery System (N-FORSe) and the Water Recovery Shutter Door. Both technologies are developed to enhance program capabilities. Several other experiments were also supported on this flight.

36.309 US Terrier-Black Brant was launched from White Sands Missile Range, NM on May 5, 2017. The purpose of the RAISE sounding rocket mission was to observe and analyze dynamics and heating of the solar chromosphere and corona on time scales as short as 100 ms.

This video shows people working in the Sounding Rockets Program and the various aspects of manufacturing, assembly, integration, testing and launch operations. File size: 530 MB. Click on video to play. Link to smaller file.

36.304 UE Terrier-Black Brant was launched from Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska on March 1, 2017. The purpose of the ISINGLASS sounding rocket mission is to sample multiple locations simultaneously in the auroral ionosphere and to take gradient measurements of plasma parameters. This was the first of two identical rockets to be flown into two separate events (ie, quiet early evening arc vs dynamic rayed arc); each rocket had a large subpayload, and four small deployable payloads.

36.301 and 36.306 UE Terrier-Black Brants were launched from Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska on March 1, 2017. The two rockets were launched 90 seconds apart to two different apogees. The main objective of this investigation was to understand the height dependent coupling processes that create localized neutral “jets” in the upper atmosphere associated with the aurora, their driving conditions, and their associated heating and neutral structuring.

36.303 UE Terrier-Black Brant was launched from Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska on February 22, 2017. The purpose of the ISINGLASS sounding rocket mission is to sample multiple locations simultaneously in the auroral ionosphere and to take gradient measurements of plasma parameters. This was the first of two identical rockets to be flown into two separate events (ie, quiet early evening arc vs dynamic rayed arc); each rocket had a large subpayload, and four small deployable payloads.

36.302 UE Terrier-Black Brant was launched from Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska on January 27, 2017. The purpose of the PolarNOx mission was to measure the abundance and altitude of peak abundance for nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is created by the Aurora, but in the polar night there is no signicant process for destroying the nitric oxide. Under appropriate conditions nitric oxide can be transported to the stratosphere where it will catalytically destroy ozone.

12.080 DR was launched from White Sands Missile Range, NM on December 15, 2016. The purpose of this mission was to demonstrate the Pathfinder Zombie hardware, software, support equipment and concept of operations.

46.014 UO Terrier-Improved Malemute carrying the RockSat-X payload was launched from Wallops Island, VA on August 17, 2016. RockSat-X is the most advanced, of three, student sounding rocket flight opportunity. The opportunity is a collaboration between NASA and Colorado Space Grant Consortium.

36.314 NS Black Brant 9 was launched from White Sands Missile Range, NM on July 27, 2016. The main objective of the Hi-C investigation is to determine the geometric configuration and topology of the structures making up the inner corona. The secondary objective is to examine the dynamics of those structures, within the constraints of the 300-seconds of observing time available from a sounding rocket.

46.116 UO Terrier-Improved Orion was launched from Wallops Island, VA on June 24, 2016. The RockOn workshop is intended to be an introductory flight opportunity to provided exposure to, and spark interest in, space based science missions. This will be accomplished by flying two classes of experiments. First time participants will generally fly the simpler kit built experiment. As educational institutions gain more experience, it is expected they will progress towards developing their own unique RockSat-C class experiments.

36.318 UE Black Brant IX was launched from White Sands Missile Range, NM on June 1, 2016. The primary objective for this mission is to provide an underflight calibration for the EUV Variability
Experiment (EVE) aboard the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite. The EVE program provides solar EUV irradiance data for NASA’s Living With the Star (LWS) program, including near real-time data products for use in operational atmospheric models that specify the space environment and to assist in forecasting space weather operations.

41.114 NP Terrier-Improved Orion sounding rocket was launched from Wallops Island, Virginia on March 7, 2016. This mission supported three experiments from the Flight Opportunities program of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). The experiment from Montana State University is a Radiation Tolerant Computer System (RadPC) provided by Brock La Meres. The experiment from Controlled Dynamics is Vibration Isolation Platform (VIP) provided by Scott Green. SOAREX9 is the third experiment flying, provided by Marc Murbach, NASA-ARC.

46.011 GP Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket was launched from Wallops Island, Virginia on March 1, 2016. The purpose of the MUSIC missions is to allow NASA Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate
(AETD) engineering personnel to gain experience in developing sounding rocket
technology, conduct systems engineering processes and Test NASA
AETD experiments. This mission will result in a Standard payload carrier
with predefined mechanical, telemetry, power and attitude control
capabilities to offer to reimbursable customers and other Wallops Flight
Facility developments.

36.297 UG Black Brant IX sounding rocket was launched from White Sands Missile Range on February 21, 2016. The Colorado High-resolution Echelle Stellar Spectrograph (CHESS) 2 sounding rocket experiment facilitates observations of Atomic-to-Molecular transitions phases in translucent clouds for the local Interstellar Medium (ISM) by observing nearby stars that were too bright for Hubble and FUSE. Detailed composition and temperature maps at the diffuse/translucent ISM boundary will be possible for the first time with data from CHESS 2.